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Today I am reviewing a Middle Grade/ Tween adventure book titled WhipEye by Geoffrey Saign. More about the author:

Geoffrey Saign can often be found looking for interesting critters, and magic, while swimming, snorkeling, sailing, or hiking in the woods. His passion for nature and wildlife led to his nationally endorsed book, Green Essentials: What You Need to Know About the Environment, as well as his books African Cats and Great Apes. He has a background in biology, assisted in field research with hummingbirds and humpback whales, and sailed as far away as Australia. With more than twenty years of experience working in special education, he has taught adults and children everything from sailing to novel writing. He won the Shabo Award in 2010. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Book Summary

Can a girl grieving her mother, a boy missing his father, and a thousand-year-old wise-cracking parrot save two worlds?

Samantha and her neighbor, Jake, have no idea that Samantha’s best friend, a parrot named Charlie, is a thousand years old. Charlie is also at the center of a secret battle between magical creatures and an ancient, evil man. When Charlie asks Samantha and Jake to protect him, they are chased by monsters from both sides. To save Charlie, and two worlds, Samantha and Jake have twenty-four hours to figure out how to use the supernatural staff, WhipEye, and find the courage to confront what they fear most.

My Review

The book’s cover is very attractive!. Even before reading the summary, I wanted to read this book. The magical staff called the WhipEye has many animals carved on to it and I quite liked that idea. It’s visualized beautifully on the cover.

Samantha a.k.a Sam, the protagonist of this story, is sad over her mother’s death and finds solace in the company of a talking parrot, Charlie, in a pet store. However, one day when the parrot asks her to help break him out of the store and thus from the holds of the evil pet store owner, Magnar, Sam’s life takes a different turn. She has no idea what’s in store for her!. Jake, her neighbour, noses his way into Sam’s home and she has no choice but to let him in on this secret too. Thus Jake becomes an important part of her journey, in rescuing the parrot from Magnar.

At first, I didn’t like Jake’s character. He seemed like a nuisance, getting on Sam’s (and mine!) nerves, talking nonstop. Also, even when he knew there was danger involved in helping Charlie, he seemed completely into saving him. I could understand why Sam wanted to help, since she been friends with Charlie for over an year, but not why Jake was taking the risk for helping either Sam or Charlie. He was pumped and so invested in this escape plan. I found that part unbelievable. However, later on when risks become too much, Jake becomes impatient and even irked that he came along. I am glad the author wrote such a scene. It made the situation believable.

The fantasy world they both travel to is beautifully described. The danger that Magnar and his shadow monsters pose for these two kids is beyond wild. There is danger lurking in every page of this book. It’s interesting. However, towards the middle of the book, the constant run from the monsters became a bit repetitive. It’s like getting exhausted reading about the constant chase. So, sometimes when I put down the book, I found that I wasn’t rushing back to it!. However, in the last quarter, the author amped up the game and threw in a lot of unexpected twists that had me on edge till the very last page.

This is surely a great start since WhipEye is book 1 of WhipEye Chronicles. I don’t quite like books that end in a cliffhanger, that makes me wait until the next book comes out. This book isn’t so. The author has ended the book in a positive note, with just enough of a situation that promises an interesting sequel!. The second book is titled Gorgon and it will be out in Spring 2015!

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars which by Goodreads standards mean I ‘really liked it’!